-Livemint.com * Demand in rural markets has outstripped sales growth in urban markets over the last several quarters. * Companies are betting on consumers in rural India switching from unbranded, loose products to branded ones. Top FMCG makers are back to chasing growth in India's villages and are ramping up their reach in those markets. To be sure, companies are betting on large swathes of consumers in rural India switching from unbranded, loose products...

-The Indian Express At the projected economic cost of Rs 29.94/kg for wheat and Rs 42.94/kg for rice, the corresponding per-kg PDS consumer subsidy in the coming fiscal would work out to Rs 27.94 and Rs 39.94, respectively. The Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) “economic cost” of wheat sold through the public distribution system (PDS) is budgeted to go up to Rs 29.94 per kg and that of rice to Rs 42.94...

-PTI/ The Telegraph Family members claim it was an inflated one while the state-run power company says victim had never been billed since he had taken a borewell connection in 2010 Patna: A Bihar farmer who received an electricity bill for around Rs 50,000 in December and paid Rs 25,000 after taking loans hanged himself on Thursday after power officials insisted on full payment, his family said. Family members of 48-year-old Dinesh Singh...

-PTI/ The Hindu The RBI is targeting to roll out the e-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme in June 2021 The Reserve Bank on Friday announced it will be integrating consumer grievances redressal under a single ombudsman as against three schemes working at present. There are dedicated ombudsman schemes devoted to consumer grievance redressal in banking, non-bank finance companies and digital transactions, respectively, at present. “To make the alternate dispute redress mechanism simpler and more responsive to...

-Hindustan Times/ Livemint.com “There is an immediate need to improve agricultural infrastructure so that we produce more, while also conserving and processing agricultural output efficiently,” Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech. The government on Monday introduced a new agriculture infrastructure development cess (AIDC) on petrol, diesel and several other imported items. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured it won’t place any additional burden on consumers. However, following the introduction of the cess, states...